Hi, I've been running a Xiaomi AX3600 on pre-release builds of OpenWrt. I would like to update to the official snapshot image, but there are numerous differing guides on how to get there without soft bricking.
My current version is: OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r0-6b31da7 / LuCI Master git-22.288.45107-3e9d9a9
The closed part 2 dev thread had someone ask this question, and the answer was "read the wiki" - but the wiki only has instructions for installing from the stock FW. Another comment mentions these steps, though some replies indicate they had issues with this set of instructions too:
Is this still the advisable way to get to the official snapshot?
In almost all cases (with only a few exceptions), you simply download the "sysupgrade" image and then use the firmware upgrade page within LuCI or the sysupgrade function in the commandline to flash the new image. It is often recommended that you do not keep settings across any major upgrades, and with snapshots, you'd probably be best to do the same.
Thanks. I think this is an exception, as now the router appears soft bricked (disabled wpad, and did sysupgrade without preserving config). Just boots to an orange power light, won't assign an IP.
Should I just proceed with a TFTP debrick attempt?
We have to distinguish two scenarios here, depending on the currently installed firmware version.
scenario 1 (https://github.com/robimarko/openwrt/releases/tag/ipq807x-2022-10-20-1114 kind of hints at that):
you have an old pre-merge snapshot provided by robimarko installed, which was still using both (small-) partitions in a dual-firmware setup, this got merged into one (large) partition before support for this device was merged into official OpenWrt (23.05~ and master).
Upgrading this does require extra caution and special (non-sysupgrade) prepations, as explained in the ax3600 device support thread around january/ february of this year.
scenario 2:
you have an older, but official OpenWrt snapshot (or 23.05.0-rc1) version installed, both of which already use a merged (large) firmware partition. The only complication there is 'just' the target renaming (ipq807x/generic --> qualcommax/ipq807x), this issue could be redeemed by merely forcing the sysupgrade to ignore the target mismatch (settings could be retained).
Only scenario 1 really needs careful attention, scenario 2 is easier - but you must ensure 110% to force the correct firmware (and not your favourite Justin Bieber song), as --force omits all firmware sanity checks.
This is scenario 1, so the device is softbricked after I followed the instructions I linked in my first post.
I'm proceeding with TFTP recovery but the wiki is unclear about the process. The firmware file was loaded, as the system LED started flashing light blue. The instructions say:
When the device finished loading the firmware, the led starts blink. Wait for until blue led get solid!
So I'm waiting for it to change solid. However, in the same step, it says:
If the led is blinking blue led it means the device was flashed successfully and can be restarted
So am I waiting for it to change solid, or can I reboot it now and proceed as though it's stock?
All worked out, I rebooted it while the lights were flashing, which did not brick it, and proceeded to install OpenWrt fine as a clean install from the stock FW following the instructions on the wiki. Thank you for the help!